What if AI is the best news you’re gonna get?

After all, a common enemy always does wonders. Look at Scotland and France.

We barely knew who the other one was before we fought the English together. Now I can’t set foot into a Scottish pub without getting treated to a few drinks.

AI has started to replace the robotic music that the industry has been cranking out for years.

Since Pro Tools came on the market in ‘89, we’ve been working towards this. What started out as another tape machine became a useful tool to fix small mistakes. Sadly, it grew into an insatiable monster, squeaking every last ounce of life out of records.

So, after almost four decades of editing the fuck out of everything, it’s time to let the new tool take over. Will it retire hundreds of engineers and producers? The ones who repeatedly, relentlessly removed every speck of magic dust from countless tracks?

I guess I should feel bad for my colleagues. They were merely following the trend to put food on the table. Yet they became keyboard masters, grid worshippers. They got sucked into the over-editing vortex, never to resurface again.

As Tom Robbins once said, people who sacrifice beauty for efficiency get what they deserve.

Let it be a reminder. Betraying our ideals, our values, always has consequences. Whether it’s about art or life principles, that nasty boomerang will always come back.

I had the opportunity to betray it all, early on. To embrace the over-editing and a glamorous career. Steady income, night sessions, and terrible music.

I passed. Coz I knew what was right for me.

As many indie-focused producers, my career has been made of ups and downs. Great periods, when the projects are plentiful and my banker is happy. And quieter ones, when I rush to pick up some shifts at the back of a questionable kitchen.

But I have no regrets. Because after more than a decade in the industry, my time is coming.

AI might be the best thing that ever happened to the music industry.

Sure, it is pumping out a massive amount of garbage: some 50 000 tracks are uploaded every day.

But it can also unite us independents into a much stronger front. We’re the ones that will keep on MAKING music, because that’s the best part, innit?
The making.

Of course, the rewards are lovely, don’t get me wrong. A dedicated audience is a beautiful thing. And that’s why we need to teach our fans about AI as well. Explain why what we are doing is different. Why it is important. Why humanity needs to keep creating, with flaws, self-doubt and all.

Coz love and art are the most beautiful things we do.

So that when our kids raise their own children, real music is still around. And they can play Abbey Road or their grandmother’s latest album. Picture them, a smile on their face, trying to identify the instruments as they dance along.

Don’t be mistaken: AI is just another tool. No more, no less. We’re still in charge.

Some people will embrace it fully, but guess what? They were never your target audience anyway. Someone who pays for Spotify to play mood playlists was never going to become your fan.

For these people, music only performs a function. It’s background noise, adjusted on whether they’re working, commuting, cooking or cleaning. It does a wonderful job at disguising their loneliness, but who cares who is getting paid in the end? They’re not interested.

But people who enjoy actual music? They are already on our side. And they might just become our next super-fans. Thanks to AI, the great divide will accentuate. People will care immensely or not at all. No in-between anymore.

There will be a real craving for real, human-made music. And perhaps the return to a lo-fi aesthetic, since to an outsider, it might sound rawer and more authentic.

Embrace your sound. Embrace your mistakes. Stop fixing it all.

What we all crave is connection.

But then again, what do I know…

Never worked with me?

Here’s the perfect opportunity to start.

I promise you, there’s no catch.

Actually, there is one: I don’t know how long I’ll keep this up, depending on how busy I am. So, if you’re interested, secure your spot now.

Ps: please remind your friends & family to subscribe.